International Football History and Statistics

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On this day in football history

1923 Arthur Bridgett, a former England international left winger who had not appeared in League Football for 11 years, made his debut for Port Vale and scored the only goal of the Second Division game against Clapton Orient. He was in his 43rd year and turned out in 17 matches scoring 4 goals during the season. A big man for a winger standing 6" and weighing almost 13 stones, he gained his reputation with Sunderland whom he joined from Stoke in 1903. He played 11 times for England between 1905 and 1909 and became player manager of Hartlepoole United, then in the Northern League, in 1912. He was one of the few footballers who excercised the right of refusing to play on Christmas Day and Good Friday on religious grounds.

1927 Middlesbrough inside forward, Billy Birrell returned to Raith Rovers after almost 8 years at Ayresome Park. A month later he was appointed manager of the Scottish club. He had 3 years in this job and then managed Bournemouth & Boscombe, 1930 - 1934, Queens Park Rangers to 1939 and Chelsea until his retirement in 1952. In two spells with Raith he played in 43 games and scored 11 goals and with 'Boro he scored 60 goals in 226 League matches, captaining the team which won the Second Division in 1926-27.

1931 Chelsea signed centre half Peter O'Dowd from Burnley. He was a brilliant player who began with Blackburn Rovers in 1927 and moved to Burnley early in 1930. He won 3 caps for England and in 1934 left England to play in French football for Valenciennes. Returned to England in 1937 and played in a few games for Torquay United. In all played in 202 League matches in England and scored 8 goals. Later kept a hotel in Bournemouth and died in May 1964.

1960 Death of Joe Bache, former Aston Villa and England inside forward, at the age of 80. He joined Villa in 1901 and became the most brilliant inside left of his day. Before the First War he won two Cup Winners' medals and a League Championship one and 7 England caps. After the War he went to Mid-Rhondda as player coach and towards the end of 1920 took a similar position with Grimsby Town and turned out in 3 matches for them. When he went to Grimsby he took with him a player called Joe Carmichael who scored 138 goals in 217 games in 7 years for the club.

2019 Macclesfield Town’s ongoing financial problems had seen players and non-playing staff regularly paid late. As a result, the first-team players went on strike for their FA Cup 1st round tie against Kingstonian at Moss Rose. The Silkmen fielded a team of youth players and loanees against their non-league visitors and lost 4-0 in front of a crowd of 996.